Regrets? The Saints will have a few as they contemplate their Aviva Premiership Grand Final defeat to Leicester Tigers.
And nobody will have more to regret than captain Dylan Hartley, sent off just before the half-time interval for allegedly calling referee Wayne Barnes a cheat with this final in the balance.
If it was the case, it was a moment of stupidity from Hartley, who minutes earlier had been warned by Barnes ‘to keep his comments to himself’, and the swear word that Barnes says was thrown in by Hartley only exaggerates the crime.
In the end, Tigers were comprehensive winners of this final, but there will be many of a green, black and gold persuasion wondering ‘what might have been’ but for Hartley’s red-mist moment.
And also what might have been if a first-half Ben Foden try had been allowed. It was a close call that went against Northampton.
Saints were the better team for long spells of this game, even with 14 men, but Leicester are ruthless, and there is no hiding place in rugby when you are a man down.
Gaps appear, good sides exploit them, and Leicester are a very good side.
But the majority of these Saints players can hold their heads high after this performance. It’s just one very high profile player who will be hanging his low.
Although the fact that Hartley still led his team up to collect their losers’ medals suggests all may not be as Barnes has painted. This one could run and run.
For the second Saturday running, a Northampton team ran out at the national stadium in the hope of claiming glory.
Saints were obviously hoping their trip to Twickenham went more to plan than the Cobblers’ did to Wembley, and for Jim Mallinder’s men the stakes were even higher.
For them it wasn’t about promotion from the fourth tier of football to the third, for them it was all about becoming the champions of England.
The nation’s number one. Top dogs.
Standing in their way were their old foes, Leicester Tigers.
Just a few miles separates these two rugby giants, and they both boast fantastic rugby stadia, and a rich history.
But Tigers have always been streets ahead when it comes to one very important thing - winning trophies.
Saints have one major honour in the locker, the Heineken Cup from 2000, while Leicester have probably stopped counting the amount of cups they have seen grace their trophy cabinet.
This was Saints’ chance to make a little dent in that gulf between the clubs, and to claim their first national title.
It’s fair to say the fans probably travelled more in hope than expectation, especially as the last time the two sides met at Franklin’s Gardens on March 30 it was a rout in the Tigers’ favour.
The feeling among the national journalists in the press room before the game was that it would be an easy Leicester win - but they all added they said that last year as well.
And on that occasion, they lost to Harlequins. So, there was hope!
I have to admit, for the first 10 minutes or so it was a real case of deja vu from Wembley a week earlier. Leicester were a cut above, and cruised into a 10-0 lead thanks toa try from Niall Morris and a penalty and conversion from Toby Flood.
Saints then got into the game with a spirited response, and when Stephen Myler went over in the corner it was 10-5 and game on.
Saints were in the ascendancy, and even though Leicester increased their lead to 13-5, Northampton were, at this point the better team.
Yes, they had been lucky that Courtney Lawes avoided a yellow card for a late tackle on Flood - the groggy England fly-half eventually having to leave the field - but they were taking the game to Leicester, and the nine-times champions were rocking.
Saints felt aggrieved that ben Foden’s try on 35 minutes was scotched off for the full-back having his foot out of touch as he grounded the ball, but this was a proper match. Surely if Saints kept their heads and maintained their intensity, they could win this.
But then it all went horribly wrong.
Time was up at the end of the first half, and Myler made a huge mistake in kicking the ball directly out from the 22. He had been told not to by referee Wayne Barnes, but clearly misunderstood the directive from the referee, who three times said the ball cannot be kicked out directly.
That meant a scrum on the 22, which immediately led to a penalty for Leicester, and, according to Barnes this is when Hartley lost the plot, and called him a cheat, with an expletive thrown in for good measure.
If Hartley said what Barnes said he did, there can be no excuse for such a foul-mouthed outburst, and he deserved to be sent off.
So from being in the game at 13-5, Saints were suddenly a man short and, with George Ford slotting the penalty with the last kick of the half, it was 16-5.
To their immense credit, Saints produced some great rugby in the second half, and produced two more top drawer tries through Lee Dickson and Ben Foden.
They ensured Leicestere could never take their foot off the pedal. They kept them honest until the very end, and even when they were a man down, Saints for long periods were the better team.
But Leicester began to find the spaces left by Saints being a man short, and a couple of late tries gave Tigers a flattering margin of victory.
A week ago I say at Wembley and saw the Cobblers fail to turn up in their big game and be hammered 3-0.
There is no doubt that Saints turned up here at Twickenham, and in many respects did themselves proud.
But there is no getting away from the fact that Hartley’s indiscipline just seconds before the break cost theem very dearly.
Did it cost them the match and the title? We’ll never know.
But there is no doubt Saints will have had more chance with 15.